First, I was not at all surprised to see KSU score in the 90's. In fact, I predicted it would be something around that. There was a thread a few days ago asking what anybody knew about Wake Forest. I said in that thread that I had watched Wake a half a dozen times and they were very similar to how Oklahoma State was playing the first time KSU played them. They would guard the ball way out high and not be able to stay in front which would result in lots of easy baskets.
Wake is brutal defensively. The best defense they played was to keep running into the KSU player on the dribble handoff to draw the offensive foul call. They can't guard on the perimeter, they don't even try to guard in the post. Cincinnati is going to be the exact opposite. The game will be very similar to West Virginia on Friday. It will be ugly and physical and both teams will have a hard time scoring. K-State needs to carry over some of it's uptempo play from last night. This team is best when Bruce is not trying to reign them in and lets them get out and play. Yes, they are going to turn it over some, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. Last night's game might have been Bruce's best coaching job, but it's also possible that some of that was by default. If Bruce had tried to force K-State to slow the pace down, Wake would have won the game going away. Allowing the Cats to get out and run and actually outscore Wake was the way to win this game. The zones that Bruce switched to a few times also allowed the Cats to get out into transition a few more times.
The KSU guard play was great. Yes, Stokes was pretty out of control in the first half, but he was so good in the second half that it made up for it. Wes played one of the best games of his career and Brown was so in control of himself and his game last night. Once again, I attribute all of this to the pace of the game. Wes can be one of the best players in the conference when the game is played that way. It totally fits who he is and how he plays best. It's why he will be a better pro than college player if given the opportunity. The game fits him better.
Wake is brutal defensively. The best defense they played was to keep running into the KSU player on the dribble handoff to draw the offensive foul call. They can't guard on the perimeter, they don't even try to guard in the post. Cincinnati is going to be the exact opposite. The game will be very similar to West Virginia on Friday. It will be ugly and physical and both teams will have a hard time scoring. K-State needs to carry over some of it's uptempo play from last night. This team is best when Bruce is not trying to reign them in and lets them get out and play. Yes, they are going to turn it over some, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. Last night's game might have been Bruce's best coaching job, but it's also possible that some of that was by default. If Bruce had tried to force K-State to slow the pace down, Wake would have won the game going away. Allowing the Cats to get out and run and actually outscore Wake was the way to win this game. The zones that Bruce switched to a few times also allowed the Cats to get out into transition a few more times.
The KSU guard play was great. Yes, Stokes was pretty out of control in the first half, but he was so good in the second half that it made up for it. Wes played one of the best games of his career and Brown was so in control of himself and his game last night. Once again, I attribute all of this to the pace of the game. Wes can be one of the best players in the conference when the game is played that way. It totally fits who he is and how he plays best. It's why he will be a better pro than college player if given the opportunity. The game fits him better.
